NY Army National Guard Lt. Rebekah Eaton, a Syracuse resident, earns Combat Engineer Sapper Tab

Syracuse, New York (09/20/2024) — New York Army National Guard 1st Lt. Rebeka Eaton, a Syracuse resident, recently earned the right to wear the coveted "Sapper Tab" on her uniform sleeve.

Eaton, an ROTC instructor at Syracuse University, and a member of the 152nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, completed the Sapper Leader Course at Fort Leonard Wood Missouri in June.

The 28-day course is the Combat Engineer equivalent of the famous Ranger School.

Eaton is now one of four New York National Guard Soldiers entitled to wear the tab on the left shoulder of the uniform. She is also the only woman on that list."The school is tough, and the days are long," said Lt. Col. Nicholas Whaley, the commander of the New York Army National Guard's 204th Engineer Battalion, who is one of the three other New York Army Guard Soldiers who wear the tab."Students ruck multiple miles daily, carrying their personal, squad, and platoon gear," he said.

"It requires a high level of physical fitness, but also mental toughness, and academic knowledge in those combat engineer skills," he added."Ultimately," Whaley said, "those who succeed, are the ones that can make good decisions under stress."

Army Engineers who work in a combat environment-laying or clearing minefields, blowing up bridges, or creating or removing obstacles-are known as sappers.

The name dates to the 17th century when specially trained soldiers would dig trenches leading up to enemy fortifications. These trenches, called saps, were made so that gunpowder could be placed at the base of a wall, or artillery could be moved up to fire at close range.

The soldiers who dug saps became known as sappers.

Wearing the Sapper Tab marks the Soldier as one of the best combat engineers in the Army.

The 25-year-old Eaton is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida native, who attended New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico, where she earned her Army ROTC commission.

The institute awarded her a commission with a two-year degree. It is one of only four schools which can do that.However, she needed a four-year degree to maintain it, so she went to Syracuse University-which is very military friendly-- and earned a degree in Earth Science and Environment, Sustainability & Policy.

She also joined the New York Army National Guard and became an engineer because of the "diversity of opportunities" in the branch, Eaton stated."You can go to the construction side, or the combat side," she explained."When I was deployed, I spent a lot of time on the construction side," she said.

Eaton served with the New York Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry in East African in 2022 and 2023. She was responsible for improving Soldier living conditions in both Djibouti and at a forward location in Somalia.In Somalia she managed Air Force civil engineers and Army engineers and even got a chance for some hands on work with the Soldiers.

She decided to go to the Sapper Leaders Course because the 152nd is a combat engineer battalion and she wanted to master those skills, Eaton said.

"I like to see how far I can push myself, but truly the people who have conducted combat engineer missions in actual environments have inspired me," Eaton said.

"Throughout the course you rely heavily on your teammates and this specific group of Soldiers were selfless and worked cohesively leading to high levels of success," Eaton said.

The experience has made her a stronger officer, said Eaton.

She learned a lot from the other Soldiers who made it through the course with her, Eaton explained.

"I think I learned a lot about myself, too," she said. "You don't realize how far you're truly able to push yourself both physically and mentally.""I definitely learned how people react in a stressful environment," she added.

Being the first New York National Guard woman to earn this tab, "is a little bit exciting," she said. It's good to make a little piece of history, Eaton added.Her next goals are to be a company commander, Eaton said.

However, she said her immediate goal is to make sure she's a good officer."I want to make sure that when my Soldiers come to drill, we provide them with the best training possible," Eaton said.

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